King of Fighters XV’s Gamescom trailer is here, detailing a number of new mechanics and rollback netcode, a series first.
A brand new trailer for SNK's King of Fighters XV dropped Wednesday afternoon, highlighting key features in the franchise's next installment.
SNK uncovered the trailer on their official YouTube channel, complete with snippets of gameplay showcasing the fighting mechanics, online modes, and more.
The King of Netcode
Undoubtedly the most important reveal in the trailer is that of the inclusion of rollback netcode. While producer Yasuyuki Oda had announced as much on his Twitter account back in February, the aforementioned trailer confirms rollback netcode for the first time. According to Oda himself, the rollback solution that will be in the final game is one that they had developed internally.
This is a big deal not only for King of Fighters XV itself, but for the gameplay experience in general. After all, the fighting game community as a whole considers rollback netcode the superior solution for smooth online play. In a world where offline events are few and far between (thanks COVID), a fighting game having rollback netcode nets it a huge advantage over others.
Fighting game fans all over the world have been clamoring for rollback solutions in several other titles as well. Tekken 7 is one notorious example of a title that still does not have rollback to this day.
Characters and Mechanics
The trailer also contains other important information aside from the netcode announcement. Just as in previous entries in the series, King of Fighters XV will use a three-on-three team battle system. The game will have a total of 39 characters available at launch. The trailer does show additional empty character slots, though, implying the existence of DLC characters after release.
Also shown in the trailer are some new gameplay mechanics, with the new Shatter Strike system, featured front and center. Shatter Strike seems to be a parry mechanic, which automatically blocks and counters attacks assuming proper usage and timing.
King of Fighters XV is slated for release on February 17th, 2022. The game will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X.